


His eyes said please when his voice gave out

by sp1lt_1nk



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Original Character(s), Sick Character, Sickfic, Whump, sick muriel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-09-05 19:40:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20278726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sp1lt_1nk/pseuds/sp1lt_1nk
Summary: Muriel comes down with an illness and doesn't tell the apprentice, who has to go searching to find the answer as to why the heck Muriel hasn't been visiting the shop for a week.





	His eyes said please when his voice gave out

A loud sound startled Lucien from his sleep. He fumbled for his glasses before he trudged down the stairs in search of the noise. He was wearing clothes from yesterday, too tired from work the night before to change into his sleeping garments. Lucen unbuttons his rumpled shirt and tosses it behind the counter. With a long stretch he sets off to find Fraust, who probably had just knocked something off his desk.

Lucien was peering under his desk in search of a fallen bottle or pen when the thump came again. This time, as he was awake now, he recognized it as a knock on the door. Scrambling off the floor, Lucien dusted himself off as he made his way over to the shop’s entrance. after unfastening many locks, the door swung open to reveal a very flustered looking Muriel.

It was always a surprise when Muriel visited the magic shop. Lucien can remember him now which helped, but the awkward and burly man was always so out of place in the bustling streets. Lucien, still wiping the sleep from his eyes, gawked at the tall man looming in the doorway. 

“... can I, uh…” Muriel started, looking ready to bolt, “sorry, I thought- I should go.” he began to turn but Lucien shook his head in disagreement.

“Muriel, no need to run off. Come on in,” he said warmly, ussuring Muriel into the shop and locking the door behind them.

Lucien gave Muriel a moment or two to get used to being in the shop, his tense muscles relaxing once the prying eyes of the public were locked behind a closed door.

“To what do i owe this pleasure, my friend?” Lucien asked as he draped himself over the counter. “More protective charms? A spell or perhaps a tarot reading? What are you in need of?”

Muriel looked around sheepishly, blatantly avoiding Lucien's bare chest. “Food for the chickens.”

Liar. Lucien thought for a moment about calling out Muriel’s feeble attempt to hide the real reason for coming but thought better of it.

He couldn't help a small chuckle. “We don't usually carry bird seed here.”

“Oh,” Muriel mumbled, now looking at the floor, a deep blush on his face, “of course.” His fingers trembled as he fiddled with the hem of his cloak, a nervous habit.

“I can get some from a merchant at the market for you to pick up here, if you’d like,” Lucien offered, giving Muriel a soft smile. “In the meantime, would you like some tea? I was about to make breakfast.” that was also lie. breakfast wouldn't have been made for another hour or two if Muriel hadn't woken him up this early, but it was a good start to the day. 

Muriel nodded, glancing around the shop before sitting down in one of the chairs. Gods, he sure was on edge today. 

Lucien plucked a blend of teat that he knew Muriel liked from the cupboard before putting the large brass kettle into the fireplace. 

“Breakfast?” Lucien asked, cocking on eyebrow.

Muriel declined with a shake of his head. “Not hungry…” he murmured, still looking at the ground. 

“Oh, alright.” Lucien said, trying not to sound worried. Muriel’s usually tanned skin was looking rather pale. Hopefully the tea would do the trick. As he let the kettle boil Lucien became aware that his lack of shirt was probably making Muriel uncomfortable. How ironic, the man never wore a shirt. For someone who didn't want to be noticed, showing off his abs and scars didn't help. (Not that there was anything wrong with that, Lucien quite liked the view) 

“I'll be right back okay? I just need to get dressed.” Lucien called as he clambered up the stairs to hurriedly get dressed. 

Once he was back into his loose white shirt and black trousers, Lucien returned downstairs only to find the kettle screaming and Muriel wide eyed and shaking. Lucien quickly took the shrieking kettle off the hearth before turning to the large man who was hunched over in his chair, only the fading whistle of the kettle and Muriel’s shaky breathing punctuated the silence. 

“Hey, are you alright?” Lucien asked as he crouched in front of Muriel. 

“Someone was screaming.” Muriel mumbled, almost to himself.

“It was just the kettle, you're safe here.” Lucien gently stroked the top of Muriel’s hand in sympathy. The light touch made the man jump, eyes darting around for any sign of danger before they locked onto Lucien’s. 

“Hey there, big guy,” Lucien said softly, slowly stroking and then holding Muriel’s hand. “Its okay now. you're safe here with me.” 

Muriel’s frightened expression hardened and he hastily stood up, tugging his cloak around him tightly. 

“I need to go” 

“Muriel, wait-” but he was already unlocking the door and slipping outside before Lucien could say another word.

A week passed with no sign of Muriel. Usually he’s visit every once and a while, but he would often leave notes slipped under the door for Lucien to read. Though his handwriting was atrocious, it was easier for him to communicate through writing. But this week no letters or notes had been pushed under his door. Lucien was starting to get worried. 

Not wanting to push his friend, Lucien waited. But only the note he’d found under the rug while cleaning the shop was the only sign of Muriel. The note, one about a seashell placed in front of the door a few weeks prior, was old. Lucien was now impatient and worried. 

Deciding that if Muriel wouldn't come to him, he might as well go to Muriel, Lucien set off for the forest. He carried a bag of birdseed from the market and some soup from last night's dinner as an excuse if he needed one.

As Lucien walked he noticed things, things that were… off about the usual trail to Muriel’s hut. The usually delicately strung traps Muriel set for rabbits and squirrels were full; flies buzzed around the dead animals as they hung from trees. Fortunately, Muriel had few of these traps. Only three rabbits and a squirrel had been snagged. They looked like they had been dead for days. 

As he approached the hut Lucien heard the panicked clucking of chickens. Peering inside the cage he couldn't see much. Their usually heaping food dish was pecked clean, even the ground was devoid of seeds. Lucien opened the bag of birdseed and tossed a few liberal handfuls into the cage. In a frenzy, the birds quarreled amongst themselves over the food. 

A pitiful howl rose into the air and Lucien froze. He glanced round looking for the source before a longer keen drew his attention towards the hut. Forgetting the feed, Lucien approached the door. 

“Muriel? inanna?” Lucien called but was only met with another howl. He heard the sound of her nails scraping at the wooden door, her whimpering making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. 

A quick opening charm did the trick and the door swung open to reveal… nothing. There was no blood soaked furniture or a ransacked home. It was eerily still and quiet. Inanna whined and wound around Lucien, impatiently nosing him through the door.

Inanna whined again, tugging at Lucien’s pants with her teeth, pulling him to a secluded corner of the hut. 

She let go as soon as Lucien got the idea, dread sinking in his stomach as she lead him hastily over to a small bed. Muriel was curled up buried beneath furs and blankets. Inanna lapped at his face, only for him to groan and open his eyes slightly before the figure behind the wolf snagged his attention. 

“Get out,” he growled as he sat up. 

“Muriel, it's me.” Lucien said calmly, holding out his hands in a non threatening manner.

One of Muriel's large hands came up to rub at his eyes before he seemed to recognize the other man. “Lucien? What… what are you doing?” 

“I'm checking on you. You didn't leave a note or anything. It's been over a week; I was worried sick!"

The large man shook his head, the chain around his neck rattling as it swung. “I was busy.”

“You probably haven't been outside this hut for days, Muriel.”

“I'm fine.”

Lucine bit back a sharp reply. Muriel looked far from fine. his hair clung to his face as drops of sweat beaded on his brow and dripped into his eyes. A deep flush painted his features an angry red.

“You look like you're burning one hell of a fever,” Lucien stated as he reached to feel the taller man’s temperature. His hand was swatted away as Muriel stood and took a few uneasy steps towards the door. 

“I said 'm fine.” Muriel grunted, contradicting his statement as he swayed on his feet. "I don' get sick"

Inanna whined and pressed herself against Muriel’s legs to steady him. she licked at his hands and tried to pull him back to the bed but he was stubborn and refused. Wiping the sweat from his face, Muriel staggered over to the dwindling fire. He fumbled with the poker for a second before he gained control over his shaking hands. Soon the fire was burning again with a few additional logs. 

“I brought dinner,” Lucien said as he gingerly placed the dish by the hearth to warm up. “Its soup. I made it yesterday.”

“Not hungry,” Muriel murmured, exhaustion making his voice even lower than his usual deep monotone. 

“You need to eat something.” Lucien retorted. 

Muriel stared at the floor, trying to fold in on himself so he couldn't be seen. 

Lucien padded over and placed a hand on the large man’s shoulder. Muriel recoiled from the contact. 

“Don’t,” he said shakily, still only looking at the floor. 

Inanna whined as she tried to tug him back to the bed, but it only caused the fabric of his cloak to tear. She then pressed her entire body up against his legs, pushing him further and further back towards the bed. 

“I’ll bring you a bowl, just… sit down before you pass out,” Lucien ordered as he stirred the soup. With a glance over his shoulder he could see that inanna had wriggled her way into Muriel’s lap as he sat on the bed, his blunt fingers combing through her fur absently.

When the soup was sufficiently warm, Lucien brought a steaming bowl over to Muriel. One hand stopped petting inanna to hold the bowl, but he made no effort to start eating. He still stared, unfocused, at something Lucien couldn't see. 

“Muriel.” The sound of his name made the man jolt, spilling some of the hot soup onto his cloak. Lucien continued, “Do I need to feed it to you?” he sounded patronizing, but worry was starting to bubble up to the surface. 

Muriel shook his head but once again made no attempt to pick up the spoon. Inanna butted her head against his unocct hand, encouraging him to eat. 

Reluctantly, the mountain man picked up the soon and ate a few mouthfuls. A tiny smile graced his features before he pressed his lips into a thin line.

“How is it?” Lucien asked, looking up from his own bowl.

“Good.” Muriel replied, looking at Lucien with earnest eyes, then he lowered his gaze to the floor, “you didn't need to, though,” he mumbled.

Lucien felt his heart sink, of course Muriel was going to beat himself up about this. 

“I wanted to, and anyway you're not feeling well. It's the least I could do.” Lucien said, ending with his lopsided smile. His jaw had always shifted a little to the right. A well aimed punch probably did him in a while ago, the specifics of said punch lost to Lucien's shotty memory.

Lucien coaxed a few more spoonfuls of soup into Muriel before giving up on trying to get the stubborn man to finish the bowl. 

Inanna’s low whine make Lucien look up from washing the dishes. The man had started to shiver, the cloak falling from his shoulders. Inanna was trying to nose the fabric back around the man, but it was fruitless. 

Leaving he dished for a moment, Lucien grabbed a few furs and placed them in front of the fire. Then he retrieved Muriel from the bed and pulled him down to sit in the warmth of the fire.   
Muriel was a mess. A sweaty, feverish and shivering mess. His skin was flushed as he leaned against Lucien, too tired to hold himself up completely. Absently, Lucien carded his fingers though Muriel’s limp hair, trying to give the man some comfort as the shivering seemed to take hold of his whole body. 

Lucien looked up when a drop of sweat landed on his shoulder. At first he thought that was gross until he realized it wasn't sweat at all. Large tears traced their way down Muriel’s face as he stared into the fire, his breath shuddering in his chest as he tried to breathe normally. 

“I'm such a burden. First to Asra and now you,” Muriel said, voice wavering as another tear tumbled down his cheek. “I'm rude to you and yet you're still kind and do so much. I can't even walk to town to make sure you're okay. What.. what if you'd.. you'd…” Muriel’s breath started to catch in his throat, the start of hyperventilating. 

Lucien gently turned Muriel to face him, the man's eyes glassy and unfocused, “im right here. Im okay.” Lucien tried to reassure him, but Muriel shook his head. 

“No-no you're going to leave me too-” he choked out. “I’ll hurt you.”

“You could never hurt me, Muriel. You nor I would ever let that happen. I'm not leaving you.” Lucien said calmly as he cupped Muriel’s face with his hands and brushing away the tears with his thumbs. “I love you too much to even think about leaving you.” 

Muriel squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head again. "you're leaving- you should leave.”

“I'm not like your parents Muriel. I'm not abandoning you. I'm not going to let you think that okay? Im here. Focus on me.” 

Muriel’s head snapped up at the mention of his parents, shock written all over his face.

“I'm not going to be like them, I promise.” Lucien leaned in and pressed a kiss to Muriel’s burning forehead. “I'm not going anywhere, especially when you're like this. I'll stay right here.”

With a choked sob, Muriel wrapped his arms around Lucien and latched on, his face buried in the other man's shoulder. 

Inanna pressed herself against Muriel’s back, nuzzling him in her own way of reassurance.

After a while Lucien coaxed Muriel back to his bead, wrapping him in his cloak and making sure he was warm enough. He was about to finish the dishes when Muriel’s hand grasped his weakly. He didn't say anything, just held onto Lucien's hand, eyes watery and pleading unter heavy lids

_ stay _

So he stayed.


End file.
